One of the best friends of my oldest son is addicted to drugs. To be more specific, he is addicted to cocaine. His addiction becomes more and more a problem for himself, his parents and also for his environment.
My son's generation is a Western European generation of princes and princesses. A decadent generation. Too much money. Too much freedom. No restrictions within the group, by faith or whatever. If we have to believe the reports in the newspapers, the problem is easy to solve. Just ban everything and catch the crooks who offer it. But aren't we simplifying the actual problem? For me the key observations is, our human "need" for euphoria: intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Should we consider this human and natural need for 'euphoria' a constraint?
How to solve this? Epicurus recommends a policy whereby pleasures are maximized "in the long run". Some pleasures are not worth having because they lead to greater pains, and some pains are worthwhile when they lead to greater pleasures. The best strategy for attaining a maximal amount of pleasure overall is not to seek instant gratification but to work out a sensible long term policy. Cocaine is instant gratification with a high risk of addiction when used periodically. Reading or writing a book is a long term policy. In other words: find your book or other sensible long term thing(s)-to-do that gives you an intense feeling of well-being and happiness.
